The Day of Reclamation (REDux Edition)
by Sabre Allicia
Summary: "Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking." When a young Blake finds herself amidst a revolution. She is faced with a decision. How far would she go, for the sake of her own kind?
1. Cptr 1: Brights Lights, Burning City

**The Day of Reclamation**

REDux Edition

A Resonant-Ellipsis production

Written by Sabre Allicia

Welcome, to the REDux of the first Fanfiction I ever wrote. Except, now its 100% better and 20% cooler, with less errors and an re-polished story.  
Effectively, it's the original, with a new buffed coat of paint, and a bit less of a complete mess. =^~^=

For the benefit of those who do not watch the show:

Faunus: Human/Animal hybrids, they primarily have human features, but with distinctive animal ones, such as ears, horns or tails in addition to their mostly human form. Faunus have faced extreme discrimination at the hands of the rest of humanity for their difference, even leading to a war. This story takes place a few years after a peace treaty was signed. Humanity promised equality for the Faunus, a promise they have since fallen short on.

Aura: A physical/metaphysical manifestation of the soul. The full properties of which have not been fully explored in cannon, I have filled this with my own interpretations.

Blake: IS TOTALLY A GIRLS NAME.

This story takes place 5 years prior to those events portrayed in Volume 1

* * *

**Bright Lights, Burning City**  


There was something different about the crowd this morning.

Everyone seemed tense, she could see it, like a coiled spring ready to be released, maybe it was just the people here.

It was like everyone was on edge, like they were expecting something to happen. Even the nearby police officers, likely sent to contain any situation that may arise, seemed a lot more aggressive than she was used to. Blake hadn't even known there would be a protest today. Early that morning she had seen a group of Faunus walking in the same direction, one of whom had been carrying a large crate, emblazoned upon which was the organizations insignia. She had approached them and asked what was happening and they had told her there was something happening at the town square. And there she was, standing in the middle of a square in a city that she didn't know, amongst a crowd of expectant Faunus. Expectant for what however, she did not know either. She assumed the sudden resignation of the organisations now previous leader had something to do with it. She looked up at the ominous grey sky and smelt air that was thick and heavy with moisture, almost reflecting off the lights cast from the streetlamps and windows from nearby buildings. It looked like it was about to rain very soon. Which might explain why a large amount of people were wearing large coats. Blake started pondering the idea of leaving to get her own. She hated water. But if she left, she might miss the start of the rally, and the fact that everyone was growing even more expectant and on edge, told her that whatever was happening, was going to happen soon.

Not long after finishing that train of thought, two things happened at once.

Rain began to pour from the dark sky, its intensity increasing slowly as time progressed, while a man, to whom of which she had only seen once before, stood up upon the plinth of the squares statue. As he stood, a hush fell over the gathered Faunus, as if someone had cast a veil across the town square.

"_Brothers; Sisters; My fellow Faunus of the White Fang. I only have two questions for you all, just two. Why are you here? We suffer and struggle throughout our lives, each and every one of us cast down by the society of man and its wish for our separation, segregation and subjugation. There is, I believe, not a single Faunus in existence that can claim that they are equal. That is why you are here, is it not? To show your displeasure towards the current state and stature of society. Well, I have this to say. Negotiations have ended. Despite all we have been promised, the society of man has failed to deliver. That is not to say there are not those within that society who would not sympathize with us, to aid us in times of our need, and I openly applaud those people, for standing against convention and expectations. _

_However, a few branches do not save a dying tree._

_This system is beyond repair and redemption. The society is faulted. Their mentality is dated._

_For is it not your right as a person to be equal? As a resident of this world to be treated fair? As a member of society to be respected? But no, the society of man maintains its disposition, it refuses to grant us what we, as individuals, have rightly earned. They sit, on their hierarchical thrones, continuing to treat us as outcasts. Man still believes us to be lesser beings, subject to their discretion while we fight for our lives in this urban jungle they call civilisation._

_It is therefore I hereby claim, by the power vested in me as the leader of the White Fang Organisation, that we will no longer participate in any protests or demonstrations._

_But rest assured; this is not our surrender._

_For it has become clear to me, that if the society of man will not listen to our pleas, we must do what is right, and what is within our right to do. We must show to them that we are not simple ferals and delinquents, not to be cast aside and forgotten like idle rapscallion trash. That we __will_ _fight back._

_It is clear, that the society of man is incapable of acceptance to that of which is different or diverse. It is in their nature to stay with that which is familiar, what they perceive to be safe._

_If the society of man does not listen to reason and logic, then we must show them force."_

He held up a detonator in his hand.

"_I now only have one question for all of you._

_Will you reclaim __your_ _destiny?"_

Anger swelled inside Blake, she could feel the adrenalin coursing through her. She could tell it was running through the entire crowd, the energy emanating was almost electric. The man was right, she felt the truth behind the words he spoke. Humanities society had left them no choice. For the sake of everyone who had suffered as a result of human ignorance, Blake promised herself she would do what she could. Whatever it took to make a difference.

It was like someone had awoken a great beast, everyone moved at once. The detonator was triggered and bombs, evidently placed within support columns earlier, detonated upon the foundations of the town courthouse, levelling it to the ground.

The screams, shouts and howls of rage from the now violent crowd were nearly deafening. As deafening as the other explosions that occurred soon after.

Boxes which Blake had seen people carrying, sitting and standing on, which she had assumed were there to give their owners elevation in the protest, were broken open and its contents passed around. Fire bombs and Molotov cocktails along with firearms and kinetic blades. The coats, that she had seen everyone wearing, were cast aside as weapons ranging from swords and brutal looking bats to shotguns and other lethal looking weapons were drawn. The now mob of people, expanded violently, the nearby police officers were overwhelmed and beset on almost immediately. Explosions throughout the area rocked the ground, the noise of which, continued to be deafening, matching the volume of the shouts and cries of people mixed with the sounds of smashing glass and the smell of burning cinders.

Blake simply stood there, stunned. Until now, all of their protests and demonstrations had been peaceful, not a single fight had broken out. Shops damaged and property vandalised, but never had anyone been killed. She looked around her, at all the shops that now stood engulfed in a blazing inferno, at the shards of glass that littered the ground. She had no idea what to do. When the police finally sent reinforcements to crack down as they undoubtedly would, her fellow Faunus would be the ones being overwhelmed, and the angry mob would have no choice but to disperse, lest they bear the brunt of the law enforcements displeasure towards this escapade.

But there were also repercussions to worry about. She wasn't stupid and she knew what would happen next, she had seen it happen enough times already, though, judging from their actions today, this time would be _much_ worse. The police would go door to door, seeking out any Faunus unfortunate enough to be found, and trial them without mercy. The police didn't hold a history of treating Faunus in the kindest of lights, and Blake knew, after today, it was only going to get worse. She had been present at every past rally, protest and boycott, and although she doubted that the she would draw the authorities attention. After today, as she looked around at the now destroyed square, at the people openly fighting police officers in the streets, and as in turn, no side showed any mercy; there would be blood for this.

And she had no real place to wait it out. She had to get out of here fast, the point that she had never missed a single meeting or left any rally until the last possible moment was in no way worth getting beaten senseless by a guard or officer.

As she begun to move, she turned and saw the only addition to the square since the crowd's arrival. A large blue flag had been tied to the top of the squares statue. On it, was the White Fang symbol, but behind that, were three scratch lines painted in blood red. Against her better judgement, her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly approached it, on the base of the plinth of the statue, written in the same red, was only one sentence.

'_It has only just begun'_

Her heart sank, she had hoped, though deep down, she knew it not to be true, that this was a one off event, that their demonstrations, although they would be treated a lot worse after this, would return to being peaceful, that it was just people frustrated and venting their anger. But now, it seemed there was a new agenda for the organisation.

She didn't know what to think, then the voice in her head simply said.

"Don't think, just run."

And she did just that, she had no intention of being arrested in a strange city, so she ran from the square as fast as she could. But as she rounded the corner of a street, a line of guards had already been deployed at the other end. She veered off to the side and into an alleyway, coming face to face with a police officer, weapon in hand, and an unconscious Faunus at his feet with blood slowly dripping from their head.

He turned to her and started to advance. She had learnt how to fight in order to deal with anyone who had decided to bully her, but she had never fought a fully grown adult.

As he charged her, he swung. She went low, ducking just under the officer's fist. She shot back up and violently punched the officer in the ribs, causing them to falter and allowing her to land another blow to his gut. The officer stepped back and launched a powerful kick. Blake evaded to the side, grabbing the officer's leg and shoving him backwards off his feet and causing him to fall and smack his head violently on the ground. She didn't even look back to see if they were still conscious, she just ran. Hopefully, from here, all she had to do was stick to the side alleys and try to make her way out of the city centre, to more of an outlying area, where she would draw less attention and where she could consolidate her thoughts and assess her situation properly, after which she could…

_*smack*_

She felt herself receive a blow, smashing her off her feet and hitting the ground hard, back first and smacking her head on the pavement. She didn't move. _She couldn't move_...

She slowly drifted in and out of consciousness, interrupted by bursts of extreme pain as she struggled to get up.

A ruthless kick landed on her side and she keeled and rolled over, rain battering her as her head throbbed, she couldn't open one of her eyes and the other was hazed with blood. Someone grabbed her by her hair and dragged her up and against a wall.

"You filthy Faunus will never learn will you…"

A completely merciless voice reached her ear. It laughed and slammed her head against the wall again.

Her head felt like it was going to split open from pain, and the world felt like it had been tipped upside down about 20 times.

This wasn't going to end well.

She might die here.

"Leave her alone!"

She heard her captor grunt as he let go of her, causing her to fall back to the ground. Her vision was bad and she was too disoriented to comprehend what little she could see, but from what she could hear, fighting was going on between whoever had knocked her down, and her would-be saviour, who, from what she could tell he sounded not much older than she was.

She looked up at the sky, hoping the rain would wash away some of the blood on her face. As she looked back down, she started to make out the general outlines of the two combatants, one, whom she assumed was her saviour, didn't look much older than she was, but he moved fast. From what she could make out as she lay soaking on the ground, was that he was using some form staff, judging by the sound it made when it hit the guard. Whether or not it was his, she was unsure, but he used it to shockingly good effect. He moved fast, he didn't appear to be using a semblance, but he was still able to move as a blur to her, continually attacking the guard without falter. He wasn't going to give them a chance to fight back. Her vision began to haze with blood again but she continued to hear continuous blunt impacts and grunts of pain from her attacker.

The sound of the guard getting beaten gave her a little satisfaction as she tried to move, felt a sharp jolt of pain go through the side of her head, and then returning to her previous position.

"..You son of a…"

She heard a loud smack and a dull thud as something hit the ground hard a few meters from where she lay. She then heard approaching footsteps, splashing softly through the water.

She opened her eye again. Rain, blood and tears from the pain clouded her view, but slowly, as the rain washed away at her face, she was able to see, although it was still exceptionally blurry. She was thankfully able to identify the person standing before her as the boy that had saved her, only now did she notice the animal ears atop his head. Dog, wolf maybe? They had that general shape. From what she could tell, he had dark hair and he wore a dark coloured coat, the staff she had seen him use was attached to his back in a shortened form.

He crouched low in front of her. "Hey, you alright?"

She tried to speak, but the only audible thing that came out of her mouth was a groan, her head felt like someone had hit it with a pipe.

"...looks like that guard hit you with a pipe…"

Well at least she was right about something.

"...must have heard you coming, probably didn't appreciate you taking out his friend. I don't know if you know this, but you knocked him out cold, smashed his head against the ground hard..."

He gently tilted her head back, so he could see her injuries.

"...from what I can tell, your left eye is just swollen, that guard hit you from the side and the pipe must have connected with your forehead, that's where all the blood is coming from, the cut itself luckily isn't that bad, it just won't stop bleeding. We have to get you out of the rain to let the blood clot…"

An explosion made the ground jolt and sway, causing Blake's ears to twitch. She saw the Faunus boy opposites twitch as well.

"I put too much plastic explosive in those bombs…" The Faunus muttered to himself as he shook his head "...like I said, time to get out of here."

He reached down, grabbed her arm, and slowly lifted her up. The world had stopped spinning and her coordination was starting to come back to her. At least she was able to walk with his assistance, although their pace was slow. She was still too disoriented to know where he was taking her, not like she knew where they should go either, she just hoped he did.

They reached a tunnel underneath a small embankment, and they stopped, he turned around and checked her head again.

"You should be fine, you have a concussion so don't go to sleep, just try to stay dry and hidden, the cut should stop bleeding in a while…"

He was going to leave her here.

As he turned to look at her again; and despite her physical injuries, she still gave him the most offended look possible.

He looked blankly back at her, at a loss for what to say.

"...look, I'm sorry, but as per orders, I'm not allowed to show or tell anyone where I stay..."

Orders? Whose orders? Now Blake's curiosity peaked, who was this guy?

She however, continued to glare at him.

"...listen, you shouldn't even be here, this isn't your fight."

She almost shouted at him through her disorientation and pain. "What are you saying? I'm one of you, this is my fight!"

He sighed again, "Not anymore it isn't…"

Blake had immediately regretted the outburst as her head spun violently and she staggered sideways, back against the wall of the tunnel, white clouding her eyes.

The Faunus walked up to her and helped her up, waving his hands over her eyes and trying to get her to focus.

"Unless that guard really did hit your brain out, might I remind you this is going to get worse, much worse, and people ARE going to get hurt. You don't belong here."

Blake just gave him a look of sheer determination.

"People are going to die if they're not careful, you hear me? Do you want to die?"

Blake looked directly into his ashened eyes and said determinedly but weakly, her teeth bared,

"...I want to fight."

The Faunus simply sighed at her and shook his head. "Do you have anywhere to stay?"

She shook her own head slowly.

He took one look at her, then looked at the other end of the tunnel, then back to her.

He didn't want to leave her here, he couldn't, not with the city in a situation like now, not with the police mercilessly hunting Faunus. But he was worried what his employer's reactions would be.

He sighed deeply. "Fine, come on…"

Blake felt a degree of satisfaction as they continued to walk.

After a while, her rescuer finally said something. "You know, you should really learn to fight someone more quietly, even I could hear you from the other side of the alley."

She pondered this for a moment, and despite her finding some sense in the statement, she still glared at him.

They maintained an air of silence for the rest of the journey.

However, as they continued, her condition began to worsen, she started to slip in and out of consciousness.

"You really need to rest, but we really need to get out of here soon. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to hold on…"

"...don't worry…" Blake's voice was barely louder than a whisper. "...I can make it…"

* * *

She felt warmth. From what, she didn't know. Every part of her ached, she felt like she could lie here forever.

Lie…

She was lying down.

But she remembered standing…

She opened her eyes and immediately closed them, there was something bright in front of her, which she assumed to also be the source of the warmth.

She opened her eyes again, slowly this time.

A fire.

Well, at least she could see now.

"Good, you're alive."

Blake slowly turned her head around to see the boy who just saved her.

She could actually see what he looked like now.

He didn't look old at all, probably 14 or 15, which might explain why he wasn't that much taller either.

His equipment was oriental styled, and judging by his skin tone and facial structure, she guessed he was also of the same origin. His voice however, sounded different from both someone from this region, and the region that was the origin of his ethnicity. She guessed that he had been away from his home for a long time.

His hair was pitch black, a very similar shade to her own. It wasn't long, she had seen boys with longer hair before, but it could hardly be considered short either. Atop his head, sat two wolf ears, the same shade of black as his hair. He was thin, but not muscular either but still maintaining the sense of being reasonably built.

He wasn't wearing the coat he had on when he had saved her and she wondered where it was, he only wore a damp grey shirt, with a black collar and sleeves. He also wore a casual pair of dark coloured cargo pants and some pretty sturdy looking work boots.

She soon found out why as she started to look around at her surroundings. As her strength found her again, she soon realised that she was lying in what appeared to be some kind of blacksmith's forge. It was dark, the only source of light being the fire lit within a fireplace adjacent to her. A table stood to one side of the room, littered across it were drawings and plans of multiple things. What they were however, Blake could not discern at this distance. The majority of the room was taken up by various complex looking pieces of equipment, the most simple of which Blake was able to safely assume to be a forge and an anvil. The whole place smelt like a combination of metal, burnt wood and charcoal.

She turned back to face him, he stood near her, leaning against one of the buildings support girders built into the wall. His facial expression was, from what she could tell, a mix between relief, curiosity and humour.

They looked at each other for a moment, each sizing up the other.

The teenage Faunus boy broke the silence first. "Well, given the fact you now know where I live, I believe it only fair that I know who you are. So, what do I call you?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Blake…, Blake Belladonna…"

He smiled at her and bowed a little. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Belladonna."

She frowned slightly, she wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. After a while however, she returned the smile. "...so, what's your name?"

"Raven." He said bluntly.

She paused for a moment. "That's not your real name is it?"

He smiled a little again. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're a wolf, and a Raven is a bird so…"

He smiled more and laughed. "What an astute observation Miss Belladonna, I indeed, do not possess wings, you are right however, Raven isn't my real name. It's a name given to me by my superiors."

He laughed a little to himself. "Because of my hair colour actually. In time, you might come to learn my real name, but until then, you can just call me Raven."

_'Raven it is then…'_ Blake thought to herself.

"So…, what is this place?"

"This..." He smiled to himself as he turned to face the rest of the room. "...is my humble abode."

"You live here?"

"Yup."

"But…" She looked around the large room "There's nothing here, it's just a forge."

Raven pointed to a spot shrouded in shade slightly behind her.

She looked and saw a pillow on the floor in the dark. "...that's it…?"

He gave her a questioning look. "I sleep there, and I work…"He pointed at the forge."…There. It's not much, but it's not like I need anything else."

Blake pondered this for a moment but as she moved to sit up, she realised she was wrapped in something. It was his coat, the one he had been wearing when he saved her.

'_So this is where it was..._' She thought to herself.

He must have wrapped her in it when he brought her here. It was light, but dense, she had no idea what kind of material it was made from but she had a suspicion that the black material hadn't been dyed. But it wasn't waterproof, they must have been soaked by the time they got here, and judging by the fact the coat, and her own clothes were only partially damp, she must have been in front of that fire for a few hours at minimum.

"Listen, we need to get you out of those wet clothes. Don't want you getting a cold."

It was hard to say that without sounding exceptionally creepy, but he did his best.

He crouched in front of her again and gently moved her head into the firelight and checked her head again.

She looked into his eyes. They were the colour of ash.

A moment later he stepped back and held his hand out.

"Can you move?"

She nodded slowly and accepted his outstretched hand.

After she stood up, Raven moved off and started getting his gear, the staff she had seen him use, was strapped to his back, a black gauntlet encasing his left arm.

She handed him back his coat, which he graciously accepted and donned.

It fit him well, its length ran just over the height of his torso.

"Where are you staying?"

She looked at him and didn't say anything.

He looked at her again. "Where's the rest of your stuff?"

She simply shook her head. "I've only been here for two days, and the little I had I didn't bring with me..." She looked down at herself and back back up again. "...this is all I own."

He slowly turned around. "...seriously?" he said in an unbelieving voice.

Blake hung her head slightly.

Raven sighed. "Great, so we both don't have anything..."

She gave him a quizzical look as he scratched the back of his head, a guilty look on his head as he thought for a moment.

"...right, get ready to move, we're going out."

"...where are we going?"

"Well, seeing as we are practically and literally have nothing but the clothes on our backs and we desperately need food and supplies, I thought I would go and... requisition some things."

Blake gave him an incredulous look.

"Hey, if it were up to me, you'd stay here, however, I'm not leaving you alone inside an entire room full of sensitive equipment and documents. Plus, you already know way too much, you're a target now."

He drew his staff from his back and checked it. On his back, it was barely half a meter long, but after it extended at a brutal speed, it was nearly triple that.

"That being said, after what happened today, I think it would be best if we hid our ears."

How bluntly he said that took Blake aback.

She had secretly always wanted to be normal, not a freak stared at and mocked by everyone, but she had never wanted to compromise who she was, someone special had taught her that.

Raven held a black ribbon in his outstretched hand,"It's a composite nano-fibred impact resistant tether."

She gave him a look.

He sighed.

"Turn around…"

She gave him another look and slowly did what he said.

She felt him tying the ribbon around her ears. She hated people touching her ears, but she was more curious to what he was doing.

Once he was done, he stepped back and gave a satisfied look.

Then he frowned, stepped back towards her, tilted whatever he had done slightly, stepped back and walked off across the room and grabbed a large broadsword from a table

"...Riverglade…" he muttered to himself.

She gave him another questioning look.

He looked at her. "Oh, I give a name to everything I make, it helps me tell them apart."

"How can you tell?"

"I can feel it."

"How?"

He merely laughed. "I can't tell you my trade secrets now can I? Anyway I don't have any mirrors, so this will have to do."

He held the wide, near-chrome blade out in front of him, at her eye level, she looked into the polished blade into the reflection that shared her face. He had tied the ribbon into a black bow, perfectly covering her ears.

At first she didn't believe it was her, not until she twitched her ears and the reflections bow twitched in return did she realise what he had done.

She could finally walk around, hidden in plain sight.

All because of a little black bow.

The reflection lowered as he placed the sword back on the table while also grabbing something else from it.

She laughed a little when he put it on.

It was a fedora.

This time he gave her a look.

She still couldn't stop laughing.

He sighed.

"Well at least you're smiling. Come on…"

He walked over to one end of the room and lifted a large metal brace out of the way, at the same time he picked up a sword in its sheath from beside the door.

"...Exclusion…" he muttered to himself again

He drew the sword and swung it a few times, seemingly satisfied as he attached the sheath to his belt.

Blake realised something.

"Don't I get a weapon?"

Again he replied bluntly.

"Your bow..."

"...seriously…" She was completely lost. "What does it do?"

She started curiously patting the bow on the head.

"Aside from being a very strong ribbon, it lengthens if you channel your aura through it."

She just looked at him. "And what's that supposed to do in a fight?"

He simply smiled again and shrugged. "I have no idea, but seriously, you think I'm just going to give you one of my weapons? I barely know anything about you aside from your name."

She hated to admit it, but she saw sense in that.

If it were her, she'd have probably left him back at the tunnel.

* * *

**Notes from the author/CREDITS** (Because I sure as hell wasn't a solo player this round...)

Credit to OutlawRave for the cover image.

Resonant Ellipsis: You all know who you are...  
It was you guys who kept encouraging me to continue this crazy escapade in the first place, (see the stuff I go through for all of you?) as such, you know who I'm going to blame if this entire shenanigan goes south. XD

LastJourneyHome: This guy is solely responsible for the fact that this story got a REDux at all. He's a amazing writer in his own right, as well as a great friend. His story is enough to reduce me to hysterics whenever I read it.  
I cannot thank him enough for everything he's done.  
I also cannot state how much I would recommend reading his series, especially if you follow anything Rooster Teeth or Achievement Hunter. (Keep an eye out for some input from yours truly in Chapter 14 :p )  
Look up his story: **Team LADS, Team GENTs, and Pimponia Tower** (Yes, it's every bit as amazing as the name suggests. xD )

WhispersOfTomorrow: This person, is probably the most through editor I have even had the fortune to meet. Were it not for her input, this story would still have a fare more amount of grammar and spelling mistakes. Her effort cannot be endorsed enough, and I can't thank her enough for all she's done either. (I seem to be racking up quite the debt...)  
She also writes Fanfiction, although not for the RWBY universe, (yet) her stories are still exceptionally well written, and defiantly worth checking out. Especially if you're a Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts fan.  
Her stories are all published on wattpad, her personal website of choice for publishing.  
Just go onto wattpad .com and search **WhispersOfTomorrow** in the search bar. I would highly recommend giving her stories a look.

And of course, last but certainly not least.  
You, the reader: Yes, this is quite cliche. But, you took the time of day to read my story. ^_^  
So, thank you.  
Thanks for adding one more view to my read statistic.  
And thanks for actually reading my story at all. (unless you skipped right to the end, in which case, congratulations, you just got credit for something you didn't do XD)

This is me giving back to the fan's that helped shape my favourite show in the world.  
I hoped you enjoyed it.  
Please feel free to leave a comment or a review.  
I'd love to hear from you guys, and I'd love for you to tell me what I can do to make this even better.  
=^~^=

~Sabre Allicia


	2. Cptr 2: The Cat and The Canine

**The Cat and The Canine**

Raven grunted a little as he slid the door open slowly.

As the door was moved, she immediately caught a gust of salted air.

As Blake stepped outside, a large drop of water landed right between her ears. She shook her head violently and looked disapprovingly at the roof. Then she looked out over her surroundings.

Raven's forge was situated on a pier, the length of the building ran the width of the pier itself. This would be a great place to be if the weather was nice. She looked up at the sky. It was still lightly raining and the rest of the city sat in a light layer of mist and fog, shrouding the now afternoon sky.

She took a deep breath, she smelt the fresh sea air.

She felt hungry...

Raven ruffled her head and ears and she flinched, immediately giving him a death-glare.

He just grinned back.

"You just going to stand there? We _are_ in a hurry." He flipped his coats collar up and lowered his hat as he started walking down the length of the pier.

Blake stood there for a moment, then begun to walk after him.

They continued walking, into a part of the city far from the earlier events. Even so, at times, Blake could still see small columns of smoke rising from above the city skyline.

It's didn't take long for them to reach what Blake assumed was their destination. A small shop on the corner of a completely insignificant street.

He calmly walked through the door, she slowly followed him, not knowing what to expect.

Raven walked up to the counter attendant, Blake looked around. The shop wasn't brightly lit nor was it very large either.

The cashier slowly looked at Raven. "Good day…" He tipped his hat slightly, a stoic expression on his face.

Raven fully removed fedora, smiling. "I think it's rather dreadful actually…"

The cashier returned the smile at the sight of Raven's wolf ears and removed his own hat in return. Horns lay atop his head. "I take it you're Raven the blacksmith."

"Aye, indeed I am." Raven's tone sounded semi-professional, but friendly.

The cashier laughed, but his look soon changed to that of concern. "You sure you should be walking around on the street? I've already had Faunus coming in who have been attacked by the guards, they say there are orders to detain any Faunus on sight, everyone's a suspect apparently."

Blake stepped out from the dark corner she hadn't remembered hiding herself in. "But how do the know they were the one's responsible…?"

Raven looked at her. "They didn't. Chances are, most of them were not affiliated with us in any way. Retribution dear, nothing happens without a price."

Blake stopped.

The attendant looked at her. "Raven, she's a little too young for one's tastes isn't she?"

Raven knew he was only joking, but Blake didn't.

"I'll have you know, he's actually my brother." She really hoped he knew how to play along. They looked similar enough to just pass as relatives, but...

Raven, thankfully however, gave no sign that this information was new to him.

"Sister huh? You never mentioned anything about any family getting involved."

The cashier's voice had an air of scepticism about it.

Raven's voice became a touch less warm "Yea, and with good reason, and for the sake of their own safety."

The cashier just gave him a questioning look.

Raven ignored him "You're the requisitioner for food and supplies, am I right?"

The cashier hesitated "That I am..."

"Great." Raven completely cut the cashier off. "Then we'll need full access to your inventory."

The cashier stood up. "Ok, ok, ok, hold on; hold on! I can't just let you in and let you take what you want, access is reserved for the commanding members of…"

Raven interrupted him by spontaneously and rather abruptly drawing his sword from his back and holding the base of the handles pommel out for the cashier to see, on it was embossed the White Fang symbol. It was however, different than the one Blake had seen earlier today, the three scratch marks were longer, running diagonally across the width of the pommel, the entirety of which was surrounded by a ring of ornately carved flames.

The Cashier stood still, staring at the symbol for a moment.

"Very well...One moment please…" His vocal tone towards Raven immediately becoming more formal and respectful. "...just let me get the key."

He turned around and walked into a back room.  
Whatever that symbol was, it seemed to command respect and submission with simply its presence. Blakes conclusion was drawn, this boy was strange indeed.

"That was a good call."

Blake looked at Raven "What do you mean?"

"You being my sister means that they wouldn't ask too much questions as to why you suddenly appeared and how know a lot of very sensitive information, but that will also make you a target."

Raven's voice was blunt, but Blake saw the truth behind it as well.

"But what if others start asking questions like he did, I doubt they will all be as easy to convince as that guy?"

Raven simply looked at her. "True… But I doubt it. I don't exactly present myself as a open person, I'm not here to make friends, and I'm certainly not part of this organisation to tell my life's story. I'm here to fight for my species, and the way I see it, them knowing everything about me will not help that in the slightest. The White Fang call me Raven, because I refused to tell them my actual name. Why?" He shrugged. "I guess I just have trust issues and I don't see myself enlightening anyone about me anytime soon. No one will question the fact that you are now my sister, because no one knows any-the-wiser."

Blake saw some sense in that too, another of many surprisingly sensible things to come about on a day of immense chaos it seemed.

Overall they spent close to an hour in the store, once they had been led into the secret underground segment of the store, they chose appropriate clothes and put them into a bag that Blake ended up carrying as Raven was already carrying all his gear. Raven also ended up picking up a black trench coat he seemed quite partial to. He also placed a requisition request for an item that they seemed not to stock. A order which was made in hushed tones and quick words, which, to Blakes annoyance, she heard none of.

As they stepped outside, after they were satisfied with their acquisitions, Blake looked up above her.

Strokes of bright orange and gold streaking over the city skyline of towers and spires. The horizon glowed; azure ambiance beset upon by flaming violet skies.

It was getting late.

And she was getting hungry.

"...hey, Raven?"

Raven looked at her. "Yea?"

"Could we get something to eat on the way back?"

Raven thought for a moment "We really don't want to be out on the street any longer than we have to, can't we just get you a saucer of milk or something?"

Blake gave him a death glare.

Raven started to laugh "I hope you realise that that face is more likely going to get me to hug you than to get me to stop." He grinned, patted her head again and continued walking.

They walked around, looking for a place to eat, Blake pointed out a few restaurants, but Raven continuously stated that they want to go as soon as possible.

Eventually they reached a fast food store on the corner of another nameless street and he gave in to her incessant nagging. Paid for by a card they had acquired back at the shop, Raven ordered a bowl of noodles and a drink while he ordered Fish Noodle Soup for her. She gave him a disapproving look as he handed her the bowl, but she was grateful for it nonetheless and ate it happily as they continued to make their way back to Raven's forge.

Blake felt immensely relieved, this entire outing had been largely successful, they had new clothes, she had eaten to her hearts content and was now ready to go back to her temporary home and sleep in front of that fire again.

But their luck ran out.

Blake knew this was too good to be true to go without something going wrong.

Five drunk guards, obviously brought in to bolster the city's defences while they continued their manhunt, stumbled out of the back door of a bar and into a back stone-courtyard; right in their way. Blake knew they must have been sent to gather up any Faunus they found, she guessed they had taken some liberties while on duty.

"Hey there dearie…" one of them slurred at a random young-woman.

"How about we go and take advantage of these handcuffs I have aie…?"

The woman tried to run but the guard grabbed her arm and tugged her close.

"And where do you think you're going little lady…?" He brandished his issue handgun. "Accidents do happen you know…" The drunks all burst into intoxicated muse.

Blake looked upon this with disgust, she contemplated any way she could help the poor woman, and she put the bag of supplies carefully down out of the way on the ground, about to move forward.

But Raven moved faster.

He moved right up to the side of the guard and shoved him harder than it looked possible for someone of his size.

"Why don't we stop harassing the lady and go and do what we're paid to do aie?" He sounded calm.

"Oh yea… you telling me how to do my job punk?" His eyes fell over Blake. "Why don't I take your sister instead?" The guard straightened up, glaring as he started towards Raven.

Raven simply stood there, standing his ground in a almost ridiculously casual manner.

Blake immediately tensed, her aura ready to propel her in any direction should the need arise.

But Raven continued to stand there, a malicious smile on his face. "You're looking for any Faunus you find and taking them to be processed right?" Almost as to mock him, Raven raised his arms slightly to his sides.

"Yea? What about my orders kid, you got something to say about it?" The guard nearly yelled at Raven as he smacked his hat off his head, revealing his wolf ears.

The guard immediately clenched his jaw in fury.

Raven's grin perfectly displayed the wolf fangs that sat alongside his otherwise quite human teeth.

"Well. You found one…" His voice was filled with venom as he clenched his gauntlet arm and swung.

Blake saw the outline of it glow a dark but unmistakable purple as Raven landed a brutal undercut right into the guards gut. Drinking had not done his reactions any favours. The guard was sent flying upwards, crashing back to earth into a brick wall.

"Fucking mutt!" The man's fellow guards stepped back. Protocols be damned. Batons remained sheathed, swords were drawn.

Raven responded in kind, drawing his staff in his left hand and his sword in his right.

One guard rushed him from the side and he deployed his staff into the guard's chest with enough force to send him flying backwards into a dumpster. The other Guards prepared to attack.

"Sis?" Raven said, Blake could hear the malice again

"Yes…?" Blake's voice was shaky.

"This will only take a bit."

He took off his newly acquired coat, threw it to the side.

And he ran at them.

* * *

These men were unlike the guards Blake had encountered before. Sure those ones were rough, and there were no favours to be found towards Faunus, but these guards were out for blood, a desire that only the death of their would-be victim could satisfy. Intoxication clouded their rationality and judgement, which was both a curse and a blessing.

Their reactions were delayed, which Raven tried to take full advantage of, the downside being their now near invulnerability to feel pain. They advanced without mercy, with no regard for one another, or themselves. They were fixated on killing the wolf Faunus before them.

Ravens blade slashed through their aura's barriers, slowly withering their defences down, but they continued advancing relentlessly, oblivious to the strikes that drew blood.

And Blake just stood there, she wanted to help, she really did, but there was nothing she could do. She debated the idea of running and hiding. She wasn't used to this kind of violence, this much vengeance and bloodlust in a single day, she just hoped Raven would understand…

But the decision was made for her, as one of the guards used a metal pipe and smashed it into Ravens arm. His sword gracefully arched through the air, impaling itself into the ground, far from Ravens reach. He was left with only his staff and gauntlet.

Blake walked towards the blade. How long it took her to reach it, she was unsure of; time seemed to flux, there were moments where it slowed, at moments like as she saw a knife blade pass through Ravens aura and narrowly miss his throat. And there were time when it moved at an incomprehensible pace, as Raven desperately tried to counter 4 simultaneous strikes. Even her own thoughts seemed to move faster than she could think them.

The hilt of the sword stood at arm level. The blade shone in the amber sunlight that permeated the buildings. The sword stood, protruding from the ground.

Blake reached out to it.

She wrapped her hand around its hilt. It was solid. She tightened her grip and saw her knuckles whiten. It took almost no effort to draw the sword from the ground. She held it in her hand, testing its weight. It was heavy, a lot heavier than she expected, but yet still swift and keen.

She felt her aura begin to pass along its grooves, flowing through both blood and metal alike. Raven had obviously made his weapons and armour with the ability to channel aura through. Given what she saw when he charged his gauntlet with that purple glow, she guessed that had been his aura.

Blake snapped back into reality, now was not the time to admire craftsmanship.

Raven was now fighting 3 guards at once, one lay on the ground and the other was still against the wall.

It was then she saw the look in his eyes as they briefly flashed a brilliant purple. Something snapped. His actions had been to try and avoid killing any of them.

But they had apparently left him no choice.

At the same time a sword sliced his arm and red blossomed through his shirt, he lashed out.

He directed his staff and propelled it directly into a guard's nose at a blistering speed. The guard's head lurched back violently at a sickening pace, his body slamming against the ground, blood gushing from his now disfigured nose, his face contorted with rage and blinding pain.

Another guard rushed him, only to find himself impaled through the shoulder by his comrade's sword. He fell to the ground, desperately clutching at the hilt of the piercing blade, Raven ran to him, and propelled the staffs end directly into his head, immediately propelling him backwards, landing in a heap further back and completely incapacitating him, sword remaining firmly in place.

The remaining guard cowered, two of his comrades lay on the ground, blood pooling around their heads, one of them still writhed slowly in pain.

He turned and tried to run, but in his drunken stupor, he was far too slow. Raven dashed directly behind him and swept out his feet with his staff. While he was still suspended in the air, Raven arced the staff back up and fired it directly into the man's chest, propelling him into the ground with relentless force and causing him to crack the pavement.

Raven smiled to himself. Until a voice abruptly interrupted his train his thought. A voice so interlaced with malice and raw hatred, that Raven knew what was about to happen. And it wouldn't be good.

"I've just about had it with your shit, you Faunus trash. You think you're all so _fucking tough_ don't you?! Well let me ask you something. _Who's the monster now, bitch?!_"

Raven had just taken out three of the guards, and he was pretty sure that one of them was dead, one badly injured, the other one just unconscious.

His heart sank. There was still one left.

And now, that one was standing there, across the courtyard, arm outstretched, pistol in hand. Raven knew how the guards categorised their ammunition, and judging by the size and colour of the pistols magazine, along with how the guard held it, he guessed the pistol was loaded with impulse rounds. Rounds capable of incapacitating and eliminating any singular target moving up to an extremely high speed. Its threshold far beyond the capabilities of a normal person.

Even if the shooter was drunk, Raven still didn't stand a chance.

The guard fired once.  
Blake saw the shock-wave rippling and distorting the air around the guns muzzle caused by the bullet as it was fired.

Raven narrowly managed to block it with his staff, which broke clean in half.

The guard scowled even more. "Damn you, you bastard!"

The next shot fired caught Raven in the gauntlet arm. Blake saw his arm be blown aside, like a leaf hit by a huge gust of wind. The round didn't penetrate the gauntlets armour, but the impact nearly blew him off his feet. He knew the next round would probably kill him.

He hoped Blake would be okay.

The guards face fell.

The gun fell from his hand and fired, the round hitting an adjacent roof gutter, obliterating it to pieces.

Red blossomed from a silver glint in his chest, pooling through his uniform and beginning to trickle down his legs and onto the damp stone ground.

His chest was soon bright scarlet. His mouth began to trickle with blood.

He staggered around and turned to face Blake.

Her arms still remained outstretched, unbelieving to what she had just done.

The guard's arms grasped weakly at the protruding blade, fruitlessly trying to get it to move.

Ravens sword sat impaled through the guards chest cavity.

He looked right at her, accusing eyes that had reached the end of their lives.

He tried to say something, a last chance for absolution perhaps? Or a final curse to his killer.

Blake just stood there, staring into the eyes of a dying man, who continued to stare at her, trying to speak, but being drowned out by the blood that rose from his mouth.

Eventually he simply stopped.

His eyes rolled into his head, and his body fell to the ground with a thud, Ravens sword still protruding from his back.

Blake just stood there, she looked over to Raven, standing across the courtyard, then at her bloodied hands.

She had just killed someone.

She fell to the ground, head in her hands, the man's blood smearing her face, and started to sob profusely.

Suddenly, out of the shadows behind her, the final guard lunged, sword in hand, right towards Blake.

Raven didn't have time to shout anything.

He stamped on the hilt on one of the guards swords, causing it to spin into the air as he reached out and caught it.

As soon as the hilt made contact with his hand, his gauntlet glowed along dust lines etched into its surface, propelling himself towards her. He stepped low and swung the sword up, parrying the blade inches away from Blake's neck, he continued forward and as the blades connected, drew his gauntlet arm back as his gauntlet transformed. Each armoured panel flipped open into a blade like position, leaving only a thin metal lining covering Ravens arm. It glowed a brilliant purple, more intricate dust etching lined the inner layer of the armour, the tips of the blades left a trail of purple as he moved.

Blake only saw the new transformation for a moment, until Raven propelled the gauntlet through the guard's chest. A hole practically exploded from the guards back. A symphony of blood with a purple glow at its centre.

Blake raised her head from her arms, tears streaming from her face.

Ravens arm had gone clean through the guard's chest, both of them were drenched in blood.

Ravens head was bowed.

Blake had no idea what to do, her mind raced, but its thoughts were too incoherent for her to understand.

Raven slowly moved his arm out of the gauntlet, leaving the metal arm in the guard's chest.

Slowly, its metal began to dissolve, breaking into small purple particles only to be carried away by the wind.

The guard's body clattered to the floor with a sickeningly dull thud.

Blake looked at Raven.

He simply stood there. Blood covering his entire left side.

Blake just broke down.

She tried to close her eyes, shut away the insane violence that lay before her, but the guard was always there, sword through his chest, staring accusingly at her. She shouted at him, screamed at him to go away, to leave her be. But he just stood there, blood streaming from the puncture and flowing through her thoughts and mind.

Every time she approached him, he would start to decay, his body decomposing at a frightening pace, but still he clawed at the blade in his chest, looking at her with his now hollow sockets, jaw bone still moving slowly, cursing her. A breeze would carry the dust of the bones away, and the guard would reappear, back to a composed state, further away, and continuing to curse her existence.

"Blake…BLAKE..." An almost familiar voice breached the shadow.

She was looking at the damp ground through tear stricken and stinging eyes.

"Hey, HEY… SNAP OUT OF IT…" His voice permeated her delusions.

She fought him, though she did not know why.

Suddenly, she snapped back to reality.

She was splayed on her knees, on the damp stone ground, Raven crouched beside her, trying to get her to calm down. Her mental imprint flashed before her again.

She understood why Raven had been beset upon by her subconscious self.

"Hey…" He gripped her shoulders tightly."You need to calm down, ok? Everything's ok now…"

"OK?" her exasperation had found her voice again "OK? I just _KILLED_ someone…" she threw his arms off her, but stayed slumped on her knees, tears continuing to stream down her face.

Ravens face softened. "It is often in the heat of battle that we show who we truly are."

Blake gave him her most accusing look. "So you're saying I've always been a Murderer?"

Raven smiled "No, I'm saying you've always been a saviour." He gave her as warm a smile as he could muster. "Thank you for saving me..."

Her anger melted away slightly, leaving mostly the crippling guilt and giddying confusion.

"Listen…" his voice had a serious tone to it now "...I want to say that that is the last person you will ever have to kill, that you can live the rest of your life without blood on your hands. But that is a promise I cannot keep."

A steady stream of tears continued down Blake's face. "I just wish it wasn't like this... that we could just get along with the other people." She looked at Raven with a pleading look on her face, tears streaming, her voice laced with desperation. "Why do we have to fight? Why can't they just see that we're all the same, we're all people aren't we? We aren't just animals like they say, we bleed the same, we talk the same, why can't we be treated the same…?"

Raven smiled sympathetically at her and wiped away the blood covering his hand.  
He patted Blake on the head.

"Because they just don't understand… Like the man back at the riot said, society is scared by change, they hate difference. Their society has always been used to treating Faunus like dirt, they don't know any better because it's all they've ever known. We tried to teach them acceptance, but they just could not comprehend something that went against what they see as conventional, it just didn't make sense to them. Some are different, some actually have a shred of decency and reason, and they haven't lost their humanity in their efforts to be human…" Raven trailed off, his voice suddenly sounding distant, like his mind was far off. Blake looked at him, and tilted her head slightly. She was still crying, but her tears came slower, no longer like a torrent from her eyes.

Moments later he regained his composure. "...It's our job to teach those who refuse to learn that we are equal, and that means people ARE going to get hurt."

Raven looked directly into Blake's watery eyes. "Now you have to make a choice, you can stay and fight, or you can leave right now. You'd still be a target, but not a priority, stay low for about a year and everyone will forget you were ever involved. I can try and cover for you, I'll just come up with an excuse and hope it convinces the higher ups. But if you stay, if you choose to fight, I can't promise that that man will be your last kill. Again, I can cover for you, and keep you away from the worst of it, but we're not an army, everyone is expected to do their part."

Blake didn't know what to think anymore.

Ravens face turned to that of concern. "I'm sorry to ask this now, but if you want to leave, now might be your last chance. Either way, I promise I'll do what I can to look after you, one way or the other."

After a while, she finally spoke again.

"For the sake of everyone who has suffered, I'll do what I can to make things right...no matter the cost." Blake tried to look determined, but mixed emotions caused a more stressed expression.

Raven nodded his head "For the sake of the fallen, we carry on." He smiled at her.

"If that is your choice, so be it." He extended his arm and helped Blake back onto her feet. They began the slow walk back to the forge.

Blake just hoped she had made the right choice. "...Thank you… for everything…"

"What are brothers for?" Raven turned and winked at her. "Oh, and by the way, the names Asche, Asche Silvera."

* * *

After a while, they finally arrived back at the forge. The rain had resumed its rhythmic falling, and the steady chinks on the roof felt almost therapeutic and hypnotic to Blake at the same time.

Sleep befel her mind quickly. Her dreams a convoluted fog, with discernible segments of bloodied wolves, shadow monsters, men with dead faces, dead men with no faces and hazes of colour explosions that rocked the earth.  
She woke up screaming multiple times. Only to be gently coaxed back into her mind's lethargic slumber by Asche.

It was light outside the next time her anxiety broke her sleep.

Morning rays streamed through windows high up on the walls and in the ceiling. Asche had lit the forge and was tending to a flame.  
A glass of milk and other assorted food lay on a table close by. She ate in silence, the steady chinks of Asche's hammer against the anvil being the only source of noise. It seemed that the rain had stopped in the night.

All Blake needed was look at the placement of her blankets strewn across the floor, to see why she felt as if no sleep had graced her at all.

She stayed sitting at the table for a while.

"I just realised something." Asche had approached her after some time. "I can't just let my sister go around unarmed now can I? " He went over to the forge itself and began to kindle the blaze more.

"On that table over there…" He nodded towards a work table , the entire surface of which was covered in paper, including the whole of the adjacent portion of the wall. "...there are weapon blueprints for some pretty standard weapons. Take your pick. Once you get used to handling a weapon, I'll forge you a more advanced one, for now, stick to the plans _on_ the table."

Blake felt a steady rush of curiosity, she was unsure if she liked that she felt that, but she intrigued through the sheets of paper nonetheless. She had changed to a degree where it would be a while before she could truly recognize herself. She decided to see where this new personification would take her.

After a few minutes, she had found absolutely nothing that really appealed to her, sure there were some nice swords, and the idea of using a whip was kind of cool, but nothing really 'spoke' to her.

She then started to peruse the plans pinned to the wall, when one caught her eye.

"Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to my friend Adam…" Asche said from over at the forge. "...he can get you sorted within the organization. You found a weapon you like yet?"

Blake continued to look at the design, Asche had printed across the blueprint the words. 'CONCEPT.'

She looked at the weapons classification name. 'Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe.' Notes like one referencing the ribbon that still sat atop her head littered the side margins.

Blake grinned and pointed. "I want that one!"

* * *

**Notes from the author/CREDITS** (Because you're a solo player, doesn't mean you always have to be a solo player.)

Resonant Ellipsis: You all know who you are...

It was you guys who kept encouraging me to continue this crazy escapade in the first place, (see the stuff I go through for all of you?) as such, you know who I'm going to blame if this entire shenanigan goes south. XD

LastJourneyHome: This guy is solely responsible for the fact that this story got a REDux at all. He's a amazing writer in his own right, as well as a great friend. His story is enough to reduce me to hysterics whenever I read it.

I cannot thank him enough for everything he's done.

I also cannot state how much I would recommend reading his series, especially if you follow anything Rooster Teeth or Achievement Hunter. (Keep an eye out for some input from yours truly in Chapter 14 :p )

Look up his story: **Team LADS, Team GENTs, and Pimponia Tower** (Yes, it's every bit as amazing as you think it will be. xD )

WhispersOfTomorrow: This person, is probably the most thorough editor I have even had the fortune to meet. Were it not for her input, this story would still have a fair more amount of grammar and spelling mistakes. Her effort cannot be endorsed enough, and I can't thank her enough for all she's done either. (I seem to be racking up quite the debt...)

She also writes Fanfiction, although not for the RWBY universe, (yet) her stories are still exceptionally well written, and definitely worth checking out. Especially if you're a Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts fan.

Her stories are all published on wattpad, her personal website of choice for publishing.

Just go to wattpad and search **WhispersOfTomorrow** in the search bar. I would highly recommend giving it a look.

And of course, last but certainly not least.

You, the reader: Yes, this is going to be **monumentally** cliche. But, you took the time of day to read the sum of hours of mad ramblings and brooding in dark corners.

All of which, culminated into this, a equally mad story that started life out as a flashback.

However, one begins to doubt if it qualifies as a 'flashback' when it starts passing it's fifth page...

So, thank you.

Thanks for adding one more view to my read statistic.

And thanks for actually reading my story at all. (unless you skipped right to the end, in which case, congratulations, you just got credit for something you didn't do XD)

Were it not for you guys, I would probably be in need of a new hobby. Because, at the end of the day, I'm just a guy behind a keyboard, typing into 26 lettered key's forming words that make a story. I'm a fan, just like you. And were it not for the fans, RWBY wouldn't be what it has become.

This is me giving back to the fan's that helped shape my favourite show in the world.

I hoped you enjoyed it. And I hope you stick around for the next story. ^_^

Please feel free to leave a comment or a review.

I'd love to hear from you guys, and I'd love for you to tell me what I can do to make this even better.

~Sabre Allicia


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